Driving the Day Listen to the Playbook Audio Briefing http://bit.ly/2pfRHpd ... Subscribe on iTunes http://apple.co/2eX6Eay ... Visit the online home of Playbook http://politi.co/2f51Jnf ALL QUIET AT 1600 -- Today is the second day in a row Trump has had a very, very slimmed down public schedule. The White House says his only action item is a meeting with National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster. He will also receive the presidential daily briefing. Yesterday, Trump met with McMaster, VP Mike Pence and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. WHAT WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS TELL US: The president planned to slow down after the 100-day blitz and before his trip overseas…. Story Continued Below … TRUMP TO CAMP DAVID THIS WEEKEND? -- The FAA put flight restrictions over Camp David for this weekend. This has happened before, and Trump didn’t head to the presidential retreat. But it is spring … **SUBSCRIBE to Playbook: http://politi.co/2lQswbh THE UNAUTHORIZED WHITE HOUSE … [Read more...] about Will TRUMP go to Camp David this weekend? — PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: Condoleezza Rice — NEW: POLITICO’s unauthorized White House logs – PAUL RYAN in NYC – SPENCER ACKERMAN to the Daily Beast — B’DAY: Mark Leibovich

President Trump showed up to surprise a White House tour for a few minutes Tuesday, on the first day the White House has been open to tourists since Inauguration Day. Mr. Trump emerged from behind a French screen to a throng of cheering tourists - many of them fifth graders from Briarwood Christian School in Birmingham, Alabama - who had packed into the East Wing of the White House, hoping to catch a glimpse of the 45th president. “Oh my god!” they shouted as the president stretched his arms open to announce his arrival. He appeared immediately underneath a White House portrait of former rival and former First Lady Hillary Clinton, and told delighted children from Briarwood Christian School in Birmingham, Ala. to “work hard, everybody, work hard.” Throughout Mr. Trump’s short appearance, it was hard not to notice the giant portrait of Clinton hanging alongside him. The White House has been closed for tours since Inauguration Day as the new … [Read more...] about CBS News Logo
Trump welcomes first White House tours since his inauguration

The White House counsel's office is refusing to tell a committee on Capitol Hill which of President Donald Trump's aides used private email accounts for public business, a top Democrat said Friday. According to a letter from Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, attorneys from the White House counsel's office said this week that "several" aides to Trump have said they failed to abide by the Presidential Records Act by using private email accounts. But Cummings said the White House lawyers would not identify the employees or commit to doing so in the future. The White House has faced scrutiny over the email practices of top officials after it was revealed that Trump's son-in-law and senior White House aide, Jared Kushner, set up a private email account after the election and used it to conduct work-related business. Under the Presidential Records Act, senior White House aides are required to preserve their professional communications, including email, for archiving. Work-related text … [Read more...] about CBS News Logo
Top Dem: White House won’t say who uses private email

Last Updated Dec 27, 2017 11:21 AM EST A "large portion" of the Jackson Magnolia, a tree that has been a South Lawn fixture since the 1800s, is being removed, the White House says. It had become a safety hazard after decades of decay, according to the White House. A substantial portion of the Jackson Magnolia will be removed Wednesday morning, including one tree limb which will be conducted by the National Park Service, CBS News has confirmed. Stephanie Grisham, White House communications director for first lady Melania Trump, said the following in a statement to CBS News on Tuesday: "Mrs. Trump personally reviewed the reports from the United States National Arboretum and spoke at length with her staff about exploring every option before making the decision to remove a portion of the Magnolia tree. After reviewing the reports, she trusted that every effort had been made to preserve the historic tree, and was concerned about the safety of visitors and members of the … [Read more...] about CBS News Logo
Part of Jackson Magnolia on South Lawn coming down, White House says

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has pulled bereaved military families into a painful political fight of his own making, going so far Tuesday as to cite the death of his chief of staff's son in Afghanistan to question whether Barack Obama and other presidents did enough to honor the military dead. He's boasted that "I think I've called every family of someone who's died," though The Associated Press found relatives of two soldiers who died overseas during Trump's presidency who said they never received a call or a letter from him, as well as relatives of a third who did not get a call from him. The White House said Trump did telephone on Tuesday the families of four soldiers who were killed in Niger nearly two weeks ago, the issue that had spawned the controversy this week. "He offered condolences on behalf of a grateful nation and assured them their family's extraordinary sacrifice to the country will never be forgotten," said a White House statement. On Tuesday, the … [Read more...] about Trump speaks with relatives of 4 soldiers killed in Niger, White House says